Escape to the Cape

This past week I joined my friends on a four day hike on the Cape Scott trail, the northern most point on Vancouver Island. It is a land filled with magnificent trees, beautiful beaches and absolutely no cell service. It was a week where work and life was left behind, a week spent living in the moment and forgetting the stresses of life. 

We made the 8 hour drive up on Monday and arrived at the parking lot in good time. The trail started off with a bit of a hill and the trail was made up of old wooden logs with packed mud, boardwalk and then just pathway. 

We hiked the 3.5 kms to Eric Lake where we set up camp and spent the night. I was amazed at how large Eric Lake was and the water was very tempting, however the thought of packing wet clothes kept me on the shore.

With a 6am wake up we were packed up and on the trail by 8 am. We had 14 kms to hike to Nels Blight where we would spend the next two nights. The first section of trail was dry packed mud and then loads of boardwalk

Most of it was dry and fairly new but the further we went the older the boardwalk became with lots of holes and rot. 

Still the trail was easy compared to the Juan de Fuca trail I had done three years ago. My pack was a heavy 35 pounds and took some adjusting to but after awhile I could almost pretend it wasn't there. 

There were massive trees along the hike and it was hard not to stop and continually take pictures. My pals back home had lovingly sent me off with a note with a wonderful mantra on it that kept me going. When I felt tired I repeated the words "Peace is every step" from Thich Nhat Hanh. It kept me trucking along being mindful of every moment and allowed me to just be in the moment and take it all the beauty of this amazing island trail. After five hours of hiking we came to the settlement area of the Danes in the early 1900's. 

It was interesting to read about the history of the area and picture them living there so far away from any civilization. There were left over bits from their life there which people had found in the bush and brought out near the trail. 

After crossing this wonderful meadow we entered a dark forest that reminded me of Little Red Ridinghood as not only was there bear scat along the pathway but wolf as well. 

At the six hour mark we came out into the light as we reached our campsite for the night at Nels Bight. It was a beautiful long beach and we quickly set up camp so we could relax and rest our weary bodies!

We sat and watched the sun set for most of the evening. 

Watching as the seagulls took flight as an eagle or people got to near their resting spot. The sun set was amazing and was a beautiful way to end the long day. 

 The next morning, Wednesday we woke a little later and headed out on a day hike to the lighthouse at Cape Scott.

It was wonderful having the lighter pack and I found the 7km's out to the cape was the most beautiful part of the hike. 

There were beautiful beaches, 

forested trails, 

wooded wagon roads from the war time and 

massive, massive trees. Some had been cut down and yet they still greeted us with smiles. 

On arrival at the lighthouse I was amazed to find many buildings and a light "post" and not a true light house but it was still great to be there. 

We climbed up the light tower and were welcomed with wonderful views. We didn't stay long due to a fear of heights and a shaky see through floor. 

The hike back was a little slower as we had filled all of our water containers at the lighthouse tap. The beaches of Guise Bay greeted us once again 

and then the forested trail back across to Nels Bight. Where we enjoyed another sunset. 

In the morning we packed up nice and early and were on the trail by 9 am. It was a very long day hiking back towards Eric Lake where we took a little break to filter some water for the next part of our journey. We hiked 19 kms that day and went down to San Josef Bay. 

The trail past the car park to the bay was flat and graveled making the journey easier on our very tired bodies. 

 There were magnificent trees down there with huge roots and the beach itself of a lovely site. 

The water where the river joined the ocean was crystal clear and a beautiful greenish blue colour. 

The view from our campsite was nature at its finest and it brought the sense of peace. That evening we walked around the bend at low tide and found the sea stacks that people have spoken about. It was fun to check them all out and explore the area.

 It was the perfect way to end a great hike. I was so thankful that we had chose to stay the extra night and enjoy this beach.  

Mary, my hiking partner at the age of 12 was amazing and hiked along with us never complaining about being tired nor about having to wait for us older folks. 

We all need these respite times in our lives. Time to get away from it all and into the forests. For those of us who are always "connected" being away from cell service is one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves. Instead we can connect with nature. As we hiked (just over 50 kms in the 3.5 days) I found that I didn't think about work, I didn't worry about the future, I just enjoyed the moment. 

Thank you Walker family for inviting me come along on what was a most amazing hike and vacation. There's nothing better in life than exercise, friends, laughter and being outdoors! 

East Sooke Park

It was time to venture south and check out East Sooke park again. I had done the 10km coastal hike with a group a couple years back but had yet to go down with friends and cache along the many trails. We had planned our route to go first along the coast and nab a few caches and then loop back along the interior trail where there loads of caches to find. I had seen a picture on a hiking site that I really hoped to find while we were out on the trail. It was of a large outcropping of rock with a trail leading out to it. It reminded me so much of Scotland and looked like it would need exploring.  I hoped we could find it. 

It's funny over time how one can forget the ruggedness of a trail. I picked the trails closest to the farm as I remembered how beautiful the scenery was and "flat" the trail had seemed to be. We were having a girls day and the three of us set off with Cabin point as our goal. The trail was relatively flat as we headed out and we stopped fairly often to take in the beautiful views along the way. 

As we headed out to the point we passed this rock with a tree growing out of the top and there was a short trail down to it but I couldn't be bothered to go and explore so just carried on. It wouldn't be til later that night that I would realize that this was the place I had been looking for. The picture I had seen was taken from a different  point and therefore gave a whole different perspective on how large the rock was. Its a lot like life ...it all really just depends on your perspective. 

We managed to nab three of the four caches and knew it was time to get a move on. As the trail progressed we found ourselves doing lots of rock scrambling, a part of the trail I seem to have forgotten. 

We stopped and had lunch with a nice view looking out at the ocean 

and then carried on..

and on....

and on...

Somehow I had forgotten how steep parts of the trail were and how much it went up and back down again. We came to a trail and discussed our options...there was no way we could continue to cache and hike and still make it to Cabin point. We opted to hike and carry on. 

It was great and thankfully we were mostly in the trees as we climbed up and down through the small valleys. 










  














We didn't make it to Cabin point has I had wanted but turned back just before it. Then we cached all the way back to the parking lot arriving in perfect time. It was a great day and I will definitely have it on my list to go back and do a few more trails. It will take at least two more trips to cover all the trails and nab the rest of the caches. Something to really look forward to and hopefully it will happen within the year. East Sooke park is a beautiful beautiful place to hike!
Thanks Joan and Pat for a wonderful day!